Over the past few weeks I have been enjoying The Adventure Of The Carrots over at Rivulet's blog, $12 a day (you'll need to look back over several posts). She's been having a wonderful time growing carrots with her young son. Together they have prepared the soil, sown the seed, watered and watched the growth and a couple of weeks ago they had their first carrots to the great joy of both mother and son.
Rivulet has then been creative with the produce, making carrot and banana muffins, carrot chips, and carrot top pesto and that doesn't even begin to consider the vegetables that went down the hatch just as they were. And frankly I have been jealous.
But not any more! Today I have had my first carrots of the year from my garden. On the left of the picture you can see Paris Market and on the right Nantes. Paris Market has definitely been the more successful so far and I think I may try for a second crop. Nantes is supposed to be a long straight carrot and mine have chosen to do their own thing. But no worries, these are just the first few and doubtless they will taste delicious with the lamb chop I may dig out of the freezer for tomorrow.
There's one thing I really envy Rivulet for though - a child to share the pleasure with. What a privilege to hand on the love of growing food to the next generation!
I LOOOOOOVVVVEEEEEE them!!! I grew Nantes too! Oh your photo makes me smile so much!!!! Thank-you for this wonderful post :)
ReplyDeleteI must say as well, I love SO much being able to share this love of gardening (and really very new adventure) with my son. That he knows which plants are the tomatoes, strawberries, watermelon, carrots, ect; and he's watched them grow from seed, and planted some, it just makes my heart swell. It was funny during "the weekend of carrots" the neighbor girl came over, his little friend, and she helped him water the plants (something he does several times a day). I told her that she was watering the carrots at one point and she looked amused. Then I went over to the bin and pulled a carrot out and her eyes opened wider than wide and she beamed with delight. She could NOT believe there had been a carrot buried in the dirt attached to that green plant. It was like a magic trick. She was so thrilled. It was incredible. Goodness, I believe every child should get the chance to have a garden!
Yay for your produce!!!
fun post and wonderful reply. As I have shared, I am still the black thumbed gardener, not even getting decent herbs to grow, but still love the thought of gardening. At my old job, my last task was to write a grant that partnered the Extension Office Youth Gardening crew with urban child care providers to do some raised bed gardening. It was a nutrition themed, hands on project. The whole early childhood nutrition program was my brain child at the non-profit and I was pleased to learn my grant was funded. I would have turned the work over to staff anyway, but a little bittersweet to write the grant, and then not see the end result. But just as satisfying to learn children, many who probably deal with food insecurities at home, would get hands on gardening experience and a love of whole food, not convenience food at a time when preschool obesity was becoming a crisis.
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